A/N: Slightly longer chapter this time, but still pathetically tiny. I'm sorry; I promise the next one will be longer!
Thank you for reviewing, it means a lot!
Lauren smiled to herself, slinging her sparkly pink bag over her shoulder, as she shut the door behind her. Her thoughts, however, were not a couple of blocks away, cuddling her boyfriend, Tad; they were instead focused on a tall, muscular guy lounging around at Starkid manor. Joe. She knew it was wrong; wrong to use someone as nice as Tad. He'd never do anything like this to her.
But... Well. Lauren sighed, her thoughts turning sour. She couldn't help it. She didn't want to be in love with Joe. She didn't want to be using Tad; she wanted to love him. Yet, somehow, she was still continuing this ridiculous routine; going out with Tad, to forget her feelings for Joe. Joe didn't love her. Joe was her best friend - that was all. And, she lamented, that was how it had to be; at least, until she could move on from years of silent pain, grief and despair over someone who could never feel anything more than friendship for her.
Forcing a smile onto her face, Lauren knocked on Tad's front door. When there was no answer, she slipped inside, expecting him to be lazing around, too lazy to get the door, and too immersed in his iPod to hear her knock. She dropped her bag onto the floor, not noticing the pair of heels slung next to Tad's worn converses, too deeply immersed in thought. Joe was always in the back of her mind, and although she was starting to feel for Tad, he would never be the same as her best friend. Lauren slipped her glittery black flats off, and meandered towards the lounge.
The scene parading itself in front of her shocked all melancholic thoughts of Joe from her head.
Tad was lying on the sofa, his chest bare and his jeans being unzipped by the teeth of a woman not much older than Lauren. She lay across his thighs, her shirt removed but her blood-red bra still intact. Her skirt was pulled in at the waist, emphasising her slim figure. Neither of them noticed Lauren, until she let out a blood-curdling shriek, and ran from the room, shielding her watery eyes.
"Lo!" called Tad, shock and remorse lining his voice, thinly vieling his pleasure. "It's- it's not what it looks like!"
"Really, Tad?" Lauren screeched, grabbing her bag as she hatsily shoved her feet back into her shoes.
"I'm sorry, okay! It was a mistake!"
A new voice chimed in; musical yet scathing: "You call 6 months a mistake, Tad?"
"6 months? You've been dating this slut for 6 months?" Lauren was numb to the pain of her heart shattering now, and disbelief coloured her tone.
"Slut?" yelled the other woman, as she appeared next to Tad, yanking her shirt into place. "I'm the slut?"
"You're the one who was scantily dressed during our first meeting!"
And with that, Lauren slammed the door behind her, never to enter that household again.